Crosswalk.com aims to offer the most compelling biblically-based content to Christians on their walk with Jesus. Crosswalk.com is your online destination for all areas of Christian Living – faith, family, fun, and community. Each category is further divided into areas important to you and your Christian faith including Bible study, daily devotions, marriage, parenting, movie reviews, music, news, and more.

Living Free - May 30, 2012

"People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives." - Proverbs 16:2 NLT

Thoughts for Today

The Bible tells us that God is our Banner. Are we giving allegiance to him as our banner? Are we motivated in life by him and all he represents?

What is the driving force in your life? Your personal relationship with Christ? Or perhaps you are motivated by a desire for success. Success in business, career, accumulating wealth. Success in relationships, popularity, influence. Or even success in ministry.

These kinds of successes can be good - as long as a desire for success is not what motivates us. God examines our motives. Our first desire should be to please God … to grow in our personal relationship with him … to discover his purpose for our journey and to desire that above all else.

Consider this …

Think about your goals. Perhaps they are good, positive goals. But consider your motivation. Are you seeking to accomplish those goals so that you will feel good about yourself? So that others will honor and respect you? Or is your primary motivation to please God and accomplish what he is calling you to do.

Sometimes we start out with the right motives, but with success a subtle shift in motive begins to take place. We listen to the praise. We look at the numbers. And we want more. Our focus turns to the accomplishments, rather than the One who enables us to succeed.

It is good for all of us to have a reality check from time to time. Why are we doing what we are doing? If the banner flying over us has become success rather than Jehovah Nissi - God our Banner - we need to step back and regroup.

Prayer

Father, help me to focus my allegiance on you, my Banner, rather than on a banner of success. Forgive me for those times I've done the right thing for the wrong reasons. In Jesus' name …

These thoughts were drawn from …

Knowing God My Father: Applying the Names of God to My Personal Life by Jimmy Ray Lee, D.Min. This curriculum is designed to help people strengthen their relationship with their heavenly Father by applying His names to their personal life. Along with helping Christians know God better, it can serve as an evangelistic tool by giving a true picture of God to people who may have a distorted view of Him because of an absent or abusive earthly father who did not or does not provide for them. This group can also help men who want to be better fathers. Note: This curriculum was written especially for small groups, and we encourage people to use it that way. However, it can also be used effectively as a personal study for individuals or couples.

Would you like to have these devotions appear daily on your church or ministry website? Learn More